Masked Desires Read Online Free PDF Page B

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    The bar had closed for the night, and I had just pulled on a hooded top, ready to leave for my apartment and bed, when a tall, sharp-featured woman pushed through the door, carrying a furled umbrella.
    ‘I’m sorry, we’re closed,’ I told her, but she ignored me and strode up to the counter.
    She appeared to be looking round for something. Failing to find it, she finally acknowledged me. ‘Where’s Eddie?’
    ‘Oh, he’s in the back kitchen, I think. I’ll go get him.’
    ‘Don’t bother,’ she said, and walked round the side of the counter, into an area that was strictly off-limits to customers.
    ‘Hey, you’re not supposed to –’ I began, wondering how to get her out of there, but at that moment Eddie emerged from the kitchen, his face breaking into a weary grin at the sight of the trespasser.
    ‘Hey, sis, what brings you here?’ Turning to me, he said, ‘Summer, this is my sister, Heather.’
    ‘Stepsister,’ she corrected him. That explained why I couldn’t see any strong physical similarities between them, and why Heather was as fair as her brother was dark. Cold and brusque where he was open and charming.
    ‘Anyway, what brings you here at this time of night?’ Eddie asked. I thought about leaving, but something in his tone compelled me to stay. There seemed to be a little frost around the edges of this sibling relationship, and I wondered whether he felt as though he needed a spot of back-up.
    ‘The Masquerade Ball at the Mallory Hotel. You haven’t forgotten, have you?’
    From the blank look on Eddie’s face, it was obvious he had.
    ‘Oh Eddie. I must have reminded you three or four times. It’s this Saturday night, and you know I’m counting on you to be there.’ Sensing Eddie was about to make some kind of objection, Heather continued, ‘And don’t tell me you have to work, because I know damn well you can get someone to cover for you if you need to.’ She drew a slim book of tickets out of an oversized caramel leather purse I’d once admired when I’d seen it on the Reporter ’s fashion spread, but whose price tag was way out of my range. ‘Come on, you more than anyone ought to be helping out a charity that’s raising money for research into heart disease, right?’
    Eddie shrugged. ‘OK, so how much is this going to set me back?’
    ‘Well, the tickets are $500 each, and you’ll be bringing your girlfriend, I take it?’
    Girlfriend? I’d been working here for weeks, and this was the first I’d heard about Eddie having a girlfriend. My stomach did a sick little flip of disappointment, even as I wondered why the lucky lady had never so much as popped her head round the door in all that time.
    ‘You take it correctly, sis.’ Almost before I was aware of it, Eddie had wrapped an arm round my waist, pulling me to him. ‘You’d love to come to this ball, wouldn’t you, Summer?’
    For a moment, both he and Heather stared at me intently, waiting for my answer. Not at all sure what was happening here, I stammered, ‘Of course.’
    ‘ She’s your girlfriend?’ Heather sounded incredulous, eyeing me up and down. ‘You’ve been telling me all about this fabulous girl of yours for so long now, I have to say I’d expected someone a little more – glamorous.’
    ‘Says the woman who married her dry old stick of a boss,’ Eddie retorted. ‘How is Phillip, by the way?’
    ‘He’s fine. Waiting in the car outside. I have to drop him at JFK to catch the early flight to London, so we don’t have much time.’
    Eddie took the hint, reaching in the breast pocket of his jacket and pulling out his cheque book. ‘Who do I make it out to?’
    ‘The Masquerade Ball,’ Heather told him, watching as he filled in the cheque. Briefly, her glance settled on me once more. ‘So, how did you two meet, exactly?’
    I tried to catch Eddie’s eye, but he was still busy writing. After his comment about Heather’s husband, I had the feeling she wouldn’t react too well